Sectional pneumatic tire



1. N. STOUT AND E. E. PARSONAGE.

SECTiONAL PNEUMATIC TIRE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 13, I920.

- Patented. Feb. 21, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- EA'YJYB.

ZOllf are d 21". aria/ray? INVENTOR WITNSS:

fiyni J. N. STOUT AND E. E. PARSONAGE.

SECTIONAL PNEUMATIC TIRE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-13, 1920.

Patented Feb. 271, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

JOHN N, .s'ronrr nivnnnw-ennn raasonnen, or-sriionron, trim-MI sEoTronA-n r vnumn'rrc 'rmnl Y Leonie-e. v I

To all whom itmctycmwem: 7'

- Be it known that we, JOHN N'.'Siroo'r and EnwAR'n'E'. PAn'so'NAcE, both citizens of the United Statei residing'at Staunton, inrthel county ofClay andStat'eof Indiana, have: invented newfa'nd useful Improvements in SectionalPne'umatic Tires, of which the fol lowing is a specification.

This lnventionrelatesto pneumatic tires and has for its ob e'ct the provision'of 'a tire which is formed of a plurality of sections detachably connected-and normally held inlunlocked position byh'air pressure within the sections, each section containing a separate inflatable tube;

An important object is the provision of a tireof this character in which all the inflatable tubes are connected with a common pressure equalizing tube, automatically operating valves being associate with the equalizing tube whereby the pressure within all the sections will be maintained-constant except in the event of puncturing a section in which case the valves will operate as checks to prevent any more air-issuing from the punctured section than is originally contained therein.

An advantage of the present invention resides in the fact that in the case of punctur- Figure 1 is a side elevation of our tire upon a wheel, parts being broken away and in section. v q

Figure 2 is a cross SGCtlOIlfi-LVIGW. Figure 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view through one of the equalizing check valves, and I p "Figures 4 and 5 are detail perspective views showing the meeting ends of the sections."- Referring more particularly to the drawings the letter A designates a wheel having any ordinary or preferred type of rim I3 carried by spokes C radiating from a hub D.

' Our tire is formed of any desired number of easing sections 10 which are disposed Specification bf Letters Patent; -1' g;. m-, Feb-o 11 2 3 1 I Application filed necenbeiis, 11920. seriarnb isoeos.

rubberized fabric vvulcanized together as ord nary t re 'conjstructionf, I Thej'endll of each section is formed with a recess 13f'andg the end 12 is formed" withaborrspOnding projection "14: "so that when all; the sections are arranged infcircumferential series-the pro ections and recess Wlll have" interfitting upon the rim ii 'the ordinary manner each of which hasits end walls 11'; and 12] l closed and "itsside; toward the; rim open; i These sections are formed of rubber and tube or pipe 15 of any suitable material I j and which is provided with an inflation 1 valve 16. Located. within each section 1O is an independent inflatable tube 17 with;

whichis connected a stem 18 connected with "15 the tube 15. In this way it willjbe seen that all inflatable tubes will be in communication so that the pressure will be equalized. I

Associated with the tube 15 are valve devices designated broadly by the numeral '19,

corresponding in number to the number of sectionslO. Each of these valve devices comprises a casing 20 having its endsjcommunicating with the tube 15 and provided internally with a valve seat 21 normally closed-by a spring-pressed Valve-22.

In the operation of the device it will be seen that as a wheel travels and the weight: 'is borne upon'the successive sections 10 the weight upon the lowermost section will of course compress the air therein tof a greater;

degree than the initial pressure;- This eX- cess pressure will cause unseating of the as sociated valve 22 and thesuccessive valves" so that the pressure within the tirewill be that these valves 22open only when there is excess pressure within a section and that 1' they thus serve as check valves' This function of the valves is important asinjthe event of a puncture or blow-out in any one of the sections C, the air within that section may escape, the valves remaining closed and, prei venting the loss of tions. 7 I

From the foregoing description and a air within the other sec study of the drawings 'it will be apparent that we have thus provided a simply constructed tire which i'ssectional' and which has its sections removable and replaceable so that incaseof a necessary repair only the injured section needbe removed.-- It is of 95 r equalized at all points. It willbe observed 1 course to be noted that this will reduce the most of tire upkeep as it is quite apparent that the individual sections and tubes-there- .in will naturally be cheaper than an entire tire of ordinary construction.

While We have shown and described the preferred embodiment of our invention, it is of course to be understood that we reserve the right to make such changes in the form, construction, and arrangement of parts as will not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

Having thus described our invention, ,we claim:

In a pneumatic tire comprising a plurality of ar'cuate tire sections secured in end to end relation and each enclosing an inflatable pneumatictube, a tubular ring located concentrically of and within and consequently of less diameter than said tire sections and provided with an inflation permitting valves, a plurality of relatively small tubes communicating at one end with said inflatable tubes and communicating at their other ends with said tubular ring, and means for maintaining equal pressure within all of said inflatable tube sections, comprising a series of equalizing valves associated with said tub-ular ring and located between the successive ones of said last named tubes, each of said equalizing valves comprising a casing secured or formed upon the tubular ring and provided internally with a partition having a hole therethrough, the tubular ring being formed with a partition in alignment with said first named partition and the tubular ring being provided with holes communicating with said casing at opposite sides of said partition therein, and a spring pressed valve located within the casing and normally closing the hole in the partition.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

JOHN N. STOUT. Y EDWARD E. PARSONAGE. 

